


a brother's debt

by NegaByte



Category: Cuphead (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, its been almost a year since i joined ao3 and im only now actually writing a fic. amazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-02-28 09:36:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13268709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NegaByte/pseuds/NegaByte
Summary: “Win one more roll, and all the loot in my casino is yours!” the Devil boomed. “But if you lose, I’ll have your soul! Deal?”





	1. a crapshoot

**Author's Note:**

> the summary is a quote because i like being fake artsy. sorry. here's an actual summary:
> 
> When Mugman ventured into the Devil's casino with his brother Cuphead, he didn't know what he expected would happen. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't being saddled with a list of contracts he needed to collect if he wanted to see his brother again.

The tale of Mugman’s struggle against the Devil began with the same temptation he’d been told to resist in the Elder Kettle’s many cautionary tales. While wandering far from their simple home in the first Inkwell Isle, he and his brother, Cuphead, had come across a large and glamorous casino. Enticed by the dizzying array of games and by the idea of winning big, they entered.

Cuphead took quickly to the Craps table, managing to rack up quite a winning streak. Even Mugman, who had opted out of the game, was impressed. His golden arm even caught the attention of the casino’s manager, King Dice. “Hot dawg!” he exclaimed. “This joe can’t lose!”

A newcomer strode up to the table, clad in fur and sporting rather large horns. The very air grew hotter with his arrival, and the lively chatter slowed to a stop. Everyone’s attention turned from the game to the new arrival. “Nice run, kid,” he chuckled. It was the owner of the casino, the Devil himself!

The shocked silence didn’t last for long. “Now, how about we raise the stakes?” he suggested, raising a pair of red-and-white dice. “Win one more roll, and all the loot in my casino is yours!” he boomed. “But if you lose, I’ll have your soul! Deal?”

Without so much as a flinch, Cuphead nodded and grabbed the Devil’s dice for a throw. “Good gosh, Cuphead, no!” cried Mugman. But his words fell on deaf ears, for the dice had already been rolled! Against the back wall of the table and around its top they clattered, until they settled on…

“Snake eyes!” the Devil laughed, slamming the floor. “You lose!” He leaned in close to Cuphead, who trembled in fear.  _ What had he done? _ “Now about that soul…”

Mugman swallowed his pride and begged for his brother’s very life. “Th-there must be another way to repay you,” he stammered. “Some way  _ I _ can repay you!”

Both Cuphead and The Devil turned to look at the mug. “So you want to save your brother’s soul, eh?” the Devil asked. His grin widened. “Perhaps there is a way you can work off his debt,” he snickered, pulling out a rather long parchment. “I have here a list of my runaway debtors. Collect their souls for me, and I just might pardon your brother.”

Trembling, Mugman took the list and looked it over. Cuphead leaned over his shoulder, glancing at it as well. That was a lot of debtors…

Cuphead cried out in alarm as he was suddenly grabbed by the handle by King Dice and lifted off the ground. His flailing and protesting was to no avail, as he was carried over to the Devil, who wasted no time in stealing his soul from his body. As the cup went limp, Mugman cried out, “Cuphead! No!!”

“Sorry, kid,” the Devil sneered, “but I’ll be keeping your brother’s soul until you hold up your end of the deal.” Mugman’s frown deepened, knowing he was powerless to stop him.

“Now  _ get going! _ ” the Devil roared, rather literally kicking Mugman out of his casino. “You have ‘till midnight tomorrow to collect every one of those souls! Otherwise, your brother will belong to me forever!”

Mugman stumbled out of the casino and ran for home, almost tripping many times, the tears blurring his vision. “I’ve gotta find the Elder Kettle,” he thought to himself. “Surely, he’ll know how to get out of this mess!”

  
  


\---

  
  


The slamming open of the door to the Elder Kettle’s house awoke the old teapot, who had been napping on a rocking chair in the corner of the house. In ran Mugman, tears streaming down his face, right to where the Elder Kettle was sitting. “Elder Kettle! I, I was- Cuphead was- The casino-”

“Slow down, Mugman,” the Elder Kettle interjected. “Where have you been? And where is your brother?”

“Cuphead’s been taken by the Devil!” The words tumbled right out of Mugman’s mouth. “We- we went to the Devil’s Casino even though you told us not to, and-and he made a bet with him and he lost, and now I have to fight all his debtors or- or Cuphead’ll be in Hell forever!”

“Oh, dear,” the Elder Kettle tutted. “You and your brother have really gotten into a pickle this time, haven’t you?” Mugman nodded sadly. “I know you want to save your brother, so for now, you’ll simply have to do as the Devil wishes.”

Mugman bit his lip. He knew the Elder Kettle was right, but he hated it.

“If you want to fight those debtors, you’d best be ready for some nasty business,” the Elder Kettle continued. “Your debtor ‘friends’ won’t be very friendly once you confront them. In fact, I expect they’ll transform into terrible beasts!”

He procured a potion from within himself and held it out to Mugman. “Take this potion so they don’t hang you out to dry. It will give you the most remarkable magical abilities!”

Mugman popped the cork of the potion off, pouring it into his head. Immediately a warm sensation rushed through him, coursing through his body before settling in his fingertips, which now glowed a light blue. He stared at his hands in awe. “Woah,” he whispered.

“Now go to my writing desk and use the mystical inkwell there,” the Elder Kettle said. “You need to prepare yourself for a scrap!!”

Mugman turned to the table behind him. He tentatively reached out to the inkwell in question and soon had seemingly vanished into thin air.

The Elder Kettle shook his head. “My poor boy… there simply must be a way out of this mess!”


	2. wallop'd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the chapter name kinda sucks, i know. sorry

Mugman stood outside a brown fence door, clutching his list of contractors in sweaty palms. The first name on the list wasn’t that of an individual, but rather, a group- “The Root Pack.” Underneath the group name was more writing, seemingly to clarify the members of that group- it simply read “(Moe Tato, Weepy, Psycarrot)”

Mugman knew those vegetables. He had passed their garden many a time while wandering off to play with his brother, once even trespassing into it with Cuphead. Moe and Psycarrot had wasted no time in chasing the cups out of their garden- no thanks to Weepy, who had watched nervously from the side.

The grin on Mugman’s face quickly vanished as he remembered that he would likely have to fight these neighbors that he had grown up with. The chances of any of the debtors simply handing over their contracts were slim, and he knew that, but he still didn’t want to fight them.

As he stalled his confrontation, fate decided it would come right to him in the form of Moe Tato sprouting up on the other side of the fence gate. Mugman yelped in surprise and almost dropped his list, looking up at the giant potato. “Hey, Mugman!” Moe greeted him, in a stark contrast from his usual grumpy demeanor. “I haven’t seen ya in a while, how ya been? And where’s yer brother?”

“Oh, uh- I’m doing fine,” Mugman replied, avoiding eye contact. “Actually, I sort of needed to talk to you about something. Can I come in?”

“Sure, sure! Come on in.”

Mugman pushed open the garden gate and stepped in, making sure to shut it behind him.

“Well, Mugman, whaddaya need to talk about?” Moe asked.

Mugman took a deep breath. “Well, you see, it’s a long story, but to give you the lowdown on it...” His words steadily sped up. “Cuphead gambled his soul away to the Devil but I made a deal with him that if I collect the souls of everyone who owed them to him he’d let Cuphead go and now I kinda need your soul contract.” He took a deep breath, having nearly run out of air in that long sentence.

Moe simply stared at Mugman for a moment with an expression that he couldn’t read. “You want me… to give you… my soul contract?” he asked.

Mugman nodded, smiling sheepishly.

There was a brief moment of tension before Moe shouted, “Well, _you ain’t gonna get it!_ ”

Without warning, Moe spat a clod of dirt at Mugman, who yelped and ducked under it. He stayed close to the ground as Moe spat dirt at him until a pink worm soared his way.

Taking a deep breath, Mugman leapt forward at the worm, spinning in the air until the hand that had emerged from his straw made contact with it. As Mugman smacked the worm, it disappeared, and he bounced off it, landing gracefully on his butt. “I… parried it!” he thought to himself, smiling until another clod of dirt smacked him in the face.

Mugman stood and faced the giant potato, who was still spitting dirt and worms. “I don’t want to hurt you!” Mugman shouted as he leapt over the volleys. “Just give me the contract!”

“Eat dirt!” Moe retorted, increasing the speed of his dirt volleys. Mugman jumped and leaped over the dirt until another worm appeared, which he spun towards, parrying perfectly. “He’s not gonna give up, is he?” Mugman thought to himself.

Reluctantly, Mugman pointed a finger at Moe and snapped. A round of glowing blue bullets shot out from the tip of his finger, slamming into the vegetable. He kept his finger pointed as he vaulted over the dirt until Moe groaned in pain and retreated into the ground.

The ground beneath Mugman rumbled as Weepy sprouted from the ground, looking worriedly about him. “Moe? Wh-where are you?” he whimpered. When he saw that Moe was nowhere to be seen, his face scrunched up before he burst into tears, spraying comically large tears into the air. Mugman sidestepped drop after drop of water, firing into Weepy all the while. Eventually, Weepy retreated into the ground wailing.

Mugman breathed a sigh of relief before remembering the last vegetable on the list hadn’t yet fought him. As if on cue, Psycarrot burst out of the ground, a wicked grin on his face. “You think you’ll be taking our contract?” he sneered. “Let’s see you try and take on this!” From behind him, carrots flew into the air and towards Mugman, forcing him to temporarily redirect his fire towards them. When he could, he fired a few shots towards the giant carrot, but his fire was forced to focus on the carrots soaring towards him.

Suddenly, the carrots stopped firing, leaving Mugman with a few seconds to open fire on Psycarrot before he made his next move. Psycarrot opened his third eye and fired streams of glowing rings at Mugman, who attempted to dodge them and ended up right in their line of fire. He quietly cursed himself as Psycarrot began firing off carrots again, forcing him to get up and take care of them.

Mugman remembered something he has learned in the guide Elder Kettle had instructed him to use; if he landed enough shots, he would be able to fire an extra powerful “EX shot.” He clenched his fists, which glowed a bright blue, and punched them at Psycarrot. A blue ball of energy fired out of his fists and soared towards the carrot, slamming him right in the face!

Mugman fired the energy balls every chance he got at Psycarrot, sending out three more before Psycarrot finally raised his hands in defeat. “I give! I give!” he wailed. “You can have our contract!”

  
\---

 

Mugman’s hands trembled violently as he held a contract yellowed with age. At the top was printed “The Root Pack” in bright red letters. It seemed as if their souls were quite literally a package deal.

Mugman did nothing but stare at it. He was sitting next to the start of a winding road that led deep into the forest, where the next debtor awaited him. He dreaded the thought of explaining that he had come to doom his neighbors to hell a dozen times over and then some, so he stalled in confronting the next name on his list.

He looked away from the contract and up at the bright blue sky, dotted with puffy white clouds and accented with a sun still high. As he stared, his mind filled with memories of playing under similar skies with Cuphead, from breathless games of tag to more elaborate make-believe games.

His mind wandered, going over the many adventures he’d shared with his dear brother, Cuphead. From the forest he sat outside to the cliffs just above, Cuphead always found new things to explore and be amazed at. Once, he had chased a particularly blue butterfly into said forest, and had to be led back home by an exasperated Goopy Le Grande. Boy, was Elder Kettle mad!

Mugman stifled a giggle when he thought of how the old teapot’s lid rose over his head when the steam rose. Even though he had gotten grounded, Cuphead wasn’t deterred from his bug catching, and still attempted to catch butterflies with his trusty net whenever he could. He never learned, did he?

Mugman’s smile faded. He never learned, which was why he had gambled away his soul and put the pressure on Mugman to get it back. For the briefest of moments, Mugman debated throwing the list away and letting Cuphead have some consequences for his actions for once.

No… that wasn’t fair to Cuphead, Mugman decided. It was the spur of the moment. Mugman wasn’t so sure he would have turned the bet down had he been in Cuphead’s shoes. Besides, Cuphead would do the same for him. He knew it.

Steeling his nerves, Mugman stood and started down the winding path to his next opponent.

  
\---

 

“I gotta say, that little mug has some fight in him!” King Dice remarked to the Devil, who up until the King approached him had been sitting in his office counting money. The dollars in his claws were forgotten as King Dice brought news of Mugman successfully besting everyone in the second Inkwell isle. “He’s makin’ mincemeat outta them debtors!”

“You see! I knew there was something special about that fella!” The Devil replied.

“Well, don’t be too sure just yet, boss. I think there’s something fishy about that mug!”

“Bah! Don’t blow your wig, Dice. If that little fink tries anything… I’ve got a surprise waiting for him!”

King Dice cocked an eyebrow. “And what exactly would this ‘surprise’ a’yours be?”

The Devil clapped his hands twice. Next to him, a whirlwind of fire sprung up from the ground, and when it cleared, a smiling Cuphead was in the center. He was barely recognizable- his straw was chewed on (presumably by his newly sharpened fangs), his eyes yellow and manic, and every bit of red on his outfit had changed to a dark hue of purple.

“Whatcha need, boss?” The cup asked gleefully.

“Nothing, I just wanted to show you off to my right-hand man here.” The Devil gestured towards King Dice, who hesitantly waved. “Say hi, Cuphead.”

“Hi, Cuphead!” The boy giggled at his own joke.

“Alright, now get going,” the Devil interjected. “I got business to do.”

Cuphead took off, scampering out the office door.

“I know the mug boy’s strong,” the Devil grunted. “And I was thinkin’ he’d be a good asset to my team. With someone as strong as him under my control, I’d never have to collect my own contracts again!” King Dice rolled his eyes.

“But his old man put the idea of rebelling against me in his head,” he continued. “So I had to make sure obeying me was a more… compelling option.”

“You’re using Cuphead as a hostage,” King Dice said bluntly.

“Yep!” The Devil didn’t even try to deny it.

“And if the mug doesn’t join ya?”

The Devil’s smile widened. “Let’s just say I’ve given Cuphead enough powers to give Mugman a real run for his money, and leave it at that.”

King Dice stared out the door Cuphead had left through. He almost felt bad that he was complicit in almost certainly damning a kid to Hell. Almost.

“What’re you still standing around here for? Get back to work!” the Devil roared, sending King Dice scurrying out of the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, writing a chapter twice as long as the one preceding it: consistent chapter length? never heard of her


	3. reunited

“Well, well, well… look how far you’ve come!”

Mugman stood before the Devil, who gazed down at him with a grin from upon a throne. Mugman stared back with a steely glare.

“Not only did you bust up my good-for-nothing lackey, King Dice-”

“Where’s Cuphead?” Mugman interrupted.

The Devil’s surprise only showed for a moment. “Of course! Where are my manners?” He clapped his hands twice, and in a flurry of fire Cuphead appeared before him.

“Mugsy!!” Cuphead ran towards Mugman, grabbing him in a tight embrace. “You did it! You’re here!”

“Cuphead?” Mugman didn’t return the hug. “What… happened to you?”

“The Devil used his magic on me so I could have powers too!” Cuphead pulled away from the one-sided hug and smiled. “Just like you! And when you join him, he’ll make you look just like me!”

“Join him?” Mugman stepped away from his brother and pointed at the Devil. “You want me to _join_ you?!”

“Of course!” The Devil laughed. “Who wouldn’t want a mug as powerful as you on his side?”

“C’mon, Mug! It’ll be loads of fun!” Cuphead exclaimed. Mugman shivered- his brother acted like he was trying to get Mugman to ride a scary rollercoaster with him, not join the Devil himself.

The Devil held a clawed hand out to Mugman. “Just hand over the contracts, kid, and join our team!”

Cuphead stared in anticipation, even bouncing up and down slightly.

Mugman took a deep breath. “No.”

Cuphead’s bounce came to a halt. The Devil’s eye twitched. He retracted his hand and smiled even wider, angry eyes glaring down at Mugman.

“So! You’re welching on me like all the others, huh?” The Devil’s stare turned to Cuphead. “Cuphead, take care of Mugman for me.”

“Wait, wha-“ was all Mugman could say before Cuphead pounced at him.

Cuphead had swung his fist, making contact with Mugman’s face. He responded by pushing Cuphead away from him and rushing backwards.

“Cuphead, cut it out!” Mugman shouted at his brother. “I don’t want to fight you!”

“Well, you should’a accepted the boss’ offer, then!” Cuphead lunged again and again at Mugman, only to grab at air every time. He took a deep breath and stared at Mugman, then released a searing breath of fire at his brother. Mugman barely ducked under it, singeing the end of his straw. While Mugman was distracted by the damage to his straw, Cuphead tackled him and pinned him to the ground, twisting his left arm behind his back. The mug flailed and twisted under his brother’s hold, but he couldn’t quite get free.

The Devil’s laugh rang through his office. “Good work, Cuphead!” The cup beamed. “Now finish him off for me.”

Cuphead cocked his head. “Finish…?”

“Kill him.”

"Cuphead, no!" Mugman pleaded.

Cuphead stared down at his brother, then back at the Devil. "I... kill him? I... I ain't ready for _that_ yet!"

“What do you _mean,_ you ain’t ready yet?” The Devil snarled. “I didn’t give you those powers so you could wimp out at the last second! Give him the kiss off!”

“I can’t do that! I haven’t had enough practice! Why can’t you do it, huh?”

The Devil leaned in close to Cuphead. “Why are you backing out now when you were _so_ excited to show off your power when I turned you? Are you too… attached to your brother?”

“I ain’t attached!” Cuphead denied fervently. “I ain’t, I swear I ain’t!”

“Then finish the job, brat!” the Devil roared.

“Cuphead…” Mugman’s voice strained. “Please…”

“Shut up!” Cuphead’s voice cracked. He took a deep inhale and held it, feeling the fire swirl in his lungs. He stared down at his brother, trying to just swallow his emotions and open his mouth to unleash the flames, but…

The ground under Mugman was collecting small pools of water. Cuphead didn’t know if the tears were his brother’s or his own.

Cuphead snapped his head up to stare the Devil in the eyes and opened his mouth in a scream of fire. “I don’t gotta do what you tell me!”

The Devil was unaffected by the flames. Cuphead scrambled off of Mugman and scurried backwards, not getting very far before the Devil reached out and grabbed him. “Did you really think that hellfire could harm _me_?”

Mugman struggled to his feet and held his middle finger and thumb together. An orange spark grew on his pointer finger.

Cuphead scratched at the Devil’s hands, to no avail. “Ungrateful twit! I wasted perfectly good powers on you, and you’re too emotional to use them! I should have finished you off when I got you in the first place!”

_Snap!_ An orange spark made contact with the Devil’s face. He recoiled and dropped Cuphead, who landed right on his keister.

“Leave my brother alone!” Mugman yelled.

The Devil held a hand over the spot the charge shot had hit, a growl rumbling deep in his throat. “So, you want to challenge me, too? Is that it?” he snarled. “If you want to fight me, we’re taking this to _my_ turf!” A hole in the middle of the floor opened up, and Mugman dashed backwards, nearly avoiding falling into it. The Devil leapt into the hole, and walls of fire materialized on either side of the hole.

Mugman ran to help his brother up, but he only got waved away. “Mug, my powers ain’t gonna work against him,” Cuphead hissed. “You gotta take him on alone.”

“But the fire-“

“I can handle it!” Cuphead interrupted. “You can’t! Go on, get goin’!”

With a last glance at his brother, Mugman leapt into the hole.

 

\---

 

Mugman fell and fell through the darkness for who knows how long before landing on a cold stone platform. He looked side to side to gain his bearings, but ended up making eye contact with a _ginormous_ Devil!

“Surprised, kid?” The Devil cackled. He winked, and an image of a bomb replaced the pupil of his open eye. When he turned his head, a pink bomb flew out of his ear. Mugman raced to parry it, but stopped by a flaming poker chip right about to fall in front of him. Having no other choice, he backed as far away from it as he could, managing to escape the blast’s radius.

Mugman snapped his left hand. A spray of red spreadshots fired out of his pointer finger. finding their mark in the Devil’s eyes. Soon, eyes merged into a single eye, and a blazing axe flew from his pupil and spun towards Mugman. He attempted to weave around it and dodge a flaming chip at the same time, and ended up getting a magical axe to the face. Falling backwards, he quickly re-adjusted himself and fired more spreadshots at the Devil’s eyes.

For a while, Mugman was so focused on dodging and weaving between various attacks that he almost didn’t notice when the Devil’s eternal smirk turned to an indignant snarl. “Who do you think you are, trying to one-up me?!” The platform Mugman was on started to fall, and he leapt at the platform closest to it.

The Devil carried in two… very large, purple demons from both sides of Mugman. They hovered in the air on tiny wings where the two end platforms had once been. Mugman felt more and more trapped as blue imps swarmed above him.

The leftmost demon spat a pink skull at Mugman. He took the chance to parry it, continuing his assault on the Devil as soon as he landed back on his feet. The right demon spat an orange one at the same time that a blue imp dove towards Mugman, and he narrowly dodged both attacks, only to be crushed by a falling poker chip.

Parry, shoot, dodge, parry. Mugman continued the frantic routine. His calm state of mind was shattered when he mistook an orange skull for a pink one and jumped right into it, only to be thrown back. His breaths quickened when he realized that, despite the ribbon bearing two hearts he wore, he was down to one health.

“Don’t lose your head, Mugman,” he muttered to himself as his hands shook. “Don’t lose your head don’t lose your head don’t lose your head…” He repeated his mantra as he leapt and dodged through various imps and skulls, trembling like he’d never trembled before.

The Devil reared his ugly head back, and Mugman’s heart spiked with fear. The right and left platforms fell, as did the demons, leaving only a sole platform for Mugman to stand on.

When the Devil opened his mouth, Mugman wasn’t expecting a pained wail to come from it. Pink tears fell from the Devil’s eyes on either side of Mugman. Was the lord of Hell… crying?

A single poker chip descended towards Mugman. He was about to try and dodge it until he remembered- he hadn’t used his special art at all through the entire match.

With an uncharacteristically deep laugh, Mugman’s body took on a golden yellow color and the poker chip passed right through him. He fired his spreadshots at the Devil, firing and firing until- at last!- the Devil clutched his head in pain.

“I surrender!” he cried. The words sent a flood of relief through Mugman like no surrender had before.

 

\---

 

In the Devil’s office, Mugman stood over the Devil’s battered form. “I’d accept your surrender, Devil,” Mugman declared, pointing at his adversary. “But there’s something important you’ve forgotten to give me!”

The Devil flinched. “Alright, take your stupid brother! Sheesh!” He grabbed Cuphead, who had been cowering behind his throne, and with a wave of his hand returned the boy to normal. He dropped the cup, who ran towards Mugman for a great big hug.

“Mugman!! Mugman, I’m sorry I almost killed ya! I didn’t mean it, I swear!” Cuphead bawled.

“I know, I know! It’s okay, really!” Mugman replied, patting his brother’s back.

“I thought you were gonna die when you went down that hole- I- I’m so happy you’re alive!!” Cuphead’s wailing was getting Mugman’s shirt quite wet, though he hardly noticed.

After a moment, Mugman pulled away from the hug. “We ain’t done here yet… There’s one more thing I have to do!”

Mugman went over to a crackling fire kept in the Devil’s office and tossed every soul contract he had collected into it. As they burned, he saw the various souls of the Inkwell citizens rising from the ashes and zooming off to their owners.

“Gosh! I can’t wait to tell everyone!” Cuphead exclaimed. The boys raced out of the Devil’s casino and for home at top speed. “Last one there is a leaky cup!” Mugman giggled as they ran.

Once home, the two cups gathered all the members of Inkwell. “You’re all free of the Devil’s debt!” Mugman called. “That fiend won’t bother us again, and it’s all thanks to Mugman!” Cuphead added.

“Let’s hear it for Mugman!” Cuphead called. The citizens of Inkwell Isle began to cheer: “Hip-hip-hurrah!” “Hip-hip-hurrah!”

As the duo left the stage, they nearly collided with the Elder Kettle. “Elder Kettle!”

“Boys!” He leaned down and hugged the two cups. “Are you two alright?”

“We’re fine, Elder Kettle,” Mugman answered. “We just-“

“Mugman saved my life!” Cuphead interrupted. “The Devil tried to turn me to one o’ his servants, and then he tried to make Mugman a slave too, and then I-“

“Slow down, Cuphead,” the Elder Kettle chuckled. “I’m sure you two can tell me all about what happened later.”

“Mugman, come here a tick!” someone in the crowd called. He trotted over to them, and was promptly lifted into the air with a group effort from Inkwell’s citizens. “Three cheers for Mugman!” came a cry from the crowd as Mugman blushed. “Aw, guys…” he giggled.

Cuphead beamed with brotherly love, and the Elder Kettle was brimming over with pride as the crowd praised Mugman’s bravery.

“Elder Kettle…”

“What is it, Cuphead?”

Cuphead turned to his mentor. “Am I still grounded for going to the casino?”

“Indeed you are, my boy.”

“Aww.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wHOOWEE what a ride this has been. thank you all for being so patient with me as i took 12 whole days to finish this story


End file.
